Washington editor of Harper’s Magazine, Andrew Cockburn, returns to the show to discuss his latest article, “Crime and Punishment: Will the 9/11 Case Finally Go to Trial?” Cockburn explains how the 9/11 families overcame the legal impediments against suing the state of Saudi Arabia even in the face of rank opposition from the Obama administration, what he believed was revealed in the 28 pages, and how the Saudis helped fund the spread of Wahhabism and the rise of al-Qaeda. Cockburn believes the key question is: What is the real U.S.-Saudi relationship? Scott and Cockburn detail how Washington think-tanks have been financed and coopted by foreign countries and debate whether Saudi-funded Wahhabism or blowback from U.S. intervention is primarily to blame for the spread of radical Islam and its corresponding violence.
Andrew Cockburn is the Washington editor of Harper’s Magazine and the author of Kill Chain: The Rise of the High-Tech Assassins. Follow him on Twitter @andrewmcockburn.
Discussed on the show:
- Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act
- “Saudis hired former army veterans to lobby against the law allowing families to sue them” (CBS News)
- Brian McGlinchey (28pages.org)
- JASTA
- September 11th Hijackers
- Prince Bandar
- Wahhabism
- “Anwar Al-Awlaki’s Links to the September 11 Hijackers” (The Atlantic)
- Abdul Majeed al-Zindani
- Mohamed Atta
- Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud
- Prince Bandar and George W. Bush on the Truman balcony (Photo)
- “3/10/17 Andrew Cockburn on Trump’s escalation of Obama’s support for the Saudi war in Yemen” (Scott Horton Show)
- Rumsfeld: His Rise Fall and Catastrophic Legacy, by Andrew Cockburn
- Honor Roll of Contributors (Atlantic Council)
- POGO (Project On Government Oversight)
- “Gulf Government Gave Secret $20 Million Gift to D.C. Think Tank” (The Intercept)
- 9/11 Commission
- Robert Mueller
- Out of Control, by Leslie Cockburn
- “The Redirection,” by Seymour Hersch (The New Yorker)
- Ayman al-Zawahiri
- Abu Mohammad al-Julani
- Al-Nusra Front
- “We finally know what Hillary Clinton knew all along – US allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar are funding Isis,” by Patrick Cockburn (The Independent)
- “Obama to Iran and Israel: ‘As President of the United States, I Don’t Bluff’,” by Jeffrey Goldberg (The Atlantic)
Podcast (thescotthortonshow): Play in new window | Download